It's Christmas Everywhere!. (A Musical Exploring Carols and Holiday Traditions Around the World). By Ruth Elaine Schram. For unison/2-part choir, piano. Christmas. Parts with Performance & Accompaniment CD. Duration 25-30 minutes. Published by Heritage Music Press (LO.30-2360H).
This multicultural delight is an around-the-world celebration of Christmas, exploring carols and traditions from Germany, Japan, Australia, Africa, Mexico, Canada, and Spain. Both familiar and lesser-known carols are included, framed by an up-beat theme song which is reprised at the end, incorporating holiday greetings in six languages. Narrations are provided to introduce each country and its associated carol, explaining the traditions and providing some background information on the region. Discover the origin of the Advent Calendar, the "Cavalcade of Kings" and other interesting Christmas traditions, and learn how different cultures and countries celebrate the holiday. A marvelous budget-stretcher, this book includes vocal/piano scores, reproducible vocal parts, narrations, and a Performance/Accompaniment CD. Approximately 25-30 minutes in length, it is equally suitable for school or church use.

Starry Night, Noisy Night (A Christmas Musical for Children). By Ruth Elaine Schram. Arranged by Scott Schram. For unison choir, piano. Cantatas. Christmas. Book and performance/accompaniment CD. Published by Lorenz Publishing Company (LO.30-2501L).
Grades K-6 - "Starry Night, Noisy Night" is a charming Christmas musical for unison/opt. two-part voices filled with humorous references to modern distractions that prevent us from experiencing the true meaning of Christmas. The story is told from the stable animals' point of view: Cows annoyed by the bright starlight; Sheep spending so much time watching the activity outside the stable they almost miss the miraculous scene unfolding before them; and Chickens too busy pecking out IMs to receive the message conveyed by the birth of Christ. The musical ends on a quiet, reverent, and worshipful note, turning away from life's distractions to celebrate God's great gift of love. This work is appropriate for performance by 10-12 children, or many more. Everything that you need to prepare this musical is included: staging directions; a list of characters, costumes, and props; and a mixed-media CD with reproducible singers' pages with dialog, and full performance and accompaniment tracks.

Chorale Preludes Volume 3 by Helmut Walcha (1907-1991). For Organ. Modern, Christmas. Moderately easy. Sheet Music. Published by Edition Peters (PE.P05999).
Helmut Walcha was born in Leipzig, Germany, on October 27, 1907; he died in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on August 11, 1991. He was a blind organ virtuoso who specialized in the music of the Dutch and German baroque period. He is most known for his recordings of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach.24 chorale preludes (including 4 suitable for Christmas).

Christmas Oratorio Op. 12 by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921). Edited by Edward Blakeman. For SMezATBar Soli, SATB Choir, Harp, Organ, Strings. This edition: Urtext. Choral. Full Score. Composed Composed: December 4-15, 1858; First Performance: Christmas Day, 1858. Duration circa 40 minutes. Published by Edition Peters (PE.P11052).
ISBN 9790014109264. Choral.
This work was first published ca. 1863 by G. Flaxland, and then some years later by Durand. At that point Saint-Saens took the opportunity to make various revisions and additions, including some further rewriting of the recitatives to improve the word setting. Despite his efforts, however, the edition had various mistakes and omissions. The present edition attempts to correct these, and by close comparison with the various manuscript sources to present the work for the first time in a form as close as possible to Saint-Saens' intentions. Where there are still ambiguities, square bracketshave been used to indicate alternative or uncertain readings -- in particular for the inclusion of extra details that somehow appeared in the printed edition after the preparation and correction of Saint-Saens' final manuscript (the sources used are housed in the Music Divison of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris) Oratorio de Noel. Full score (Lat. ). For the vocal score, see EP 11053.

Messiah: The Solo Variants by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Arranged by Chester L. Alwes. For solo voice and piano. Sacred, Christmas, Eastertide, General, Lent. Published by Roger Dean Publishing (LO.30-2434R).
In this new companion to Handel's classic "Messiah," American music scholar and conductor Dr. Chester L. Alwes has created an essential resource for singers, teachers, conductors, and scholars who want to understand and make informed decisions about the oratorio and its performance. This simple, accessible book contains all of the recitatives and arias, along with every variant written and authorized by Handel and the rationale behind their potential use. The thoughtful commentary that accompanies the music also suggests a wide array of choices regarding ornamentation, style, phrasing, dynamics, and more, making it ideal for scholars and advanced singers. This is a natural and invaluable addition to the already popular Leonard Van Camp "Messiah" edition (65/1001) and the resource text "A Practical Guide for Performing, Teaching, and Singing Messiah" (30/1004), both available from Roger Dean Publishing Company.